Dr Ashley Bloomfield happily recalls his rugby playing days

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Source:
1 NEWS

He may be the face of the Covid-19 pandemic right now, but Dr Ashley Bloomfield has happily recounted his rugby-playing days, revealing he played blindside flanker in a previous life.

The Director-General of Health became a hero for many with his poised and calm delivery of information in his daily 1pm media briefings, in which he often appeared alongside Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Appearing on Sky's Breakdown, Dr Bloomfield was quizzed about his new celebrity status and his career which started as a four-year-old at the Tawa Rugby Club.

“The pinnacle of the career was in the first XV at Scots College, we weren’t that flash back in those days,” he said.

“In more recent years the Scots first XV has had success on the national stage.”

“One of only two games we won that year was a grading game and we got hammered for the rest of the season.”

Dr Bloomfield was vice captain of the side, and surprisingly given his slight stature, he played blindside flanker.

“I have to say in my rugby career I played every position, my last ever game was playing hooker for the Auckland Medical School team against the engineers.”

The long-suffering Hurricanes fan was looking forward to the return of Super Rugby.

Dr Bloomfield also spoke about the safety measures being undertaken so club rugby could return.